3. The January fashion show, called Future Fashion , exemplified how far green design has come. Organized by the New York-based nonprofit Earth Pledge, the show inspired many top designers to work with sustainable fabrics for the first time. Several have since made pledges to include organic fabrics in their lines.
The designers who undertake green fashion still face many challenges. Scott Hahn, cofounder with Gregory of Rogan and Loomstate, which uses all-organic cotton, says high-quality sustainable materials can still be tough to fine . “Most designers with existing labels are finding there aren’t comparable fabrics that can just replace what you’re doing and shat your customers are used to,” he says. For example, organic cotton and non-organic cotton are virtually indistinguishable once woven into a dress. But some popular synthetics, like stretch nylon, still have few eco-friendly equivalents.
Those who do make the switch are finding they have more support. Last year the influential trade show Designers & Agents stopped charging its participation fee for young green
entrepreneurs(企业家) who attend its two springtime shows in Los Angeles and New York and
gave special recognition to designers whose collections are at least 25% sustainable . It now counts more than 50 green designers, up from fewer than a dozen two years ago. This week Wal-Mart is set to announce a major initiative aimed at helping cotton farmers go organic: it will buy transitional(过渡型的) cotton at higher prices , thus helping to expand the supply of a key sustainable material . “Mainstream is about to occur,” says Hahn.
Some analysts(分析师) are less sure . Among consumers, only 18%are even aware that ecofashion exists, up from 6% four years ago. Natalie Hormilla, a fashion writer, is an example of the unconverted consumer, when asked if she owned any sustainable clothes, she replied: “Not that I’m aware of.” Like most consumers, she finds little time to shop, and when she does, she’s on the hunt for “cute stuff that isn’t too expensive.” By her own admission, green just isn’t yet on her mind. But –thanks to the combined efforts of designers, retailers and suppliers –one day it will be.
57. What is said about Future Fashion?
A) It inspired many leading designers to start going green. B) It showed that designers using organic fabrics would go far. C) It served as an example of how fashion shows should be organized. D) It convinced the public that fashionable clothes should be made durable.
58. According to Scott Hahn, one big challenge to designers who will go organic is that . A) much more time is needed to finish a dress using sustainable materials . B) they have to create new brands for clothes made of organic materials . C) customers have difficulty telling organic from non-organic materials . D) quality organic replacements for synthetics are not readily available .
59. We learn from Paragraph 3 that designers who undertake green fashion .
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A) can attend various trade shows free . B) are readily recognized by the fashion world C) can buy organic cotton at favorable prices . D) are gaining more and more support .
60. What is Natalie Hormilla’s attitude toward ecofashion?
A) She doesn’t seem to care about it. C) She is doubtful of its practical value. B) She doesn’t think it is sustainable D) She is very much opposed to the idea 61. What does the author think of green fashion? A) Green products will soon go mainstream. B) It has a very promising future. C) Consumers have the final say. D) It will appeal more to young people. Passage Two
Questions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.
Scientists have devised a way to determine roughly where a person has lived using a strand(缕) of hair , a technique that could help track the movements of criminal suspects or unidentified murder victims .
The method relies on measuring how chemical variations in drinking water show up in people’s hair.
“You’re what you eat and drink, and that’s recorded in you hair,” said Thure Cerling, a geologist at the University of Utah.
While diet is relatively identical, water supplies vary. The differences result from weather patterns. The chemical composition of rainfall changes slightly as raid clouds move.
Most hydrogen and oxygen atoms in water are stable , but traces of both elements are also present as heavier isotopes (同位素) . The heaviest raid falls first .As a result, storms that form over the Pacific deliver heavier water to California than to Utah.
Similar patterns exist throughout the . By measuring the proportion of heavier hydrogen and oxygen isotopes along a strand of hair, scientists can construct a geographic timeline. Each inch of hair corresponds to about two months.
Cerling’s team collected tap water samples from 600 cities and constructed a mop of the regional differences. They checked the accuracy of the map by testing 200 hair samples collected from 65 barber shops.
They were able to accurately place the hair samples in broad regions roughly corresponding to the movement of raid systems.
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“It’s not good for pinpointing (精确定位),” Cerling said . “It’s good for eliminating many possibilities.”
Todd Park, a local detective, said the method has helped him learn more about an unidentified woman whose skeleton was found near Great Salt Lake.
The woman was 5 feet tall. Police recovered 26 bones, a T-shirt and several strands of hair. When Park heard about the research, he gave the hair samples to the researchers. Chemical testing showed that over the two years before her death, she moved about every two months.
She stayed in the Northwest, although the test could not be more specific than somewhere between eastern Oregon and western Wyoming.
“It’s still a substantial area,” Park said “But it narrows it way down for me.” 62. What is the scientists’ new discovery?
A) One’s hair growth has to do with the amount of water they drink. B) A person’s hair may reveal where they have lived. C) Hair analysis accurately identifies criminal suspects.
D) The chemical composition of hair varies from person to person.
63. What does the author mean by “You’re what you eat and drink” (Line 1, ?
A) Food and drink affect one’s personality development. B) Food and drink preferences vary with individuals. C) Food and drink leave traces in one’s body tissues. D) Food and drink are indispensable to one’s existence. 64. What is said about the rainfall in America’s West?
A) There is much more rainfall in California than in Utah. B) The water it delivers becomes lighter when it moves inland. C) Its chemical composition is less stable than in other areas. D) It gathers more light isotopes as it moves eastward. 65. What did Cerling’s team produce in their research?
A) A map showing the regional differences of tap water. B) A collection of hair samples from various barber shops. C) A method to measure the amount of water in human hair. D) A chart illustrating the movement of the rain system. 66. What is the practical value of Cerling’s research?
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A) It helps analyze the quality of water in different regions. B) It helps the police determine where a crime is committed. C) It helps the police narrow down possibilities in detective work. D) It helps identify the drinking habits of the person under investigation. 4.
Throughout this long, tense election, everyone has focused on the presidential candidates and how they’ll change America. Rightly so, but selfishly, I’m more fascinated by Michelle Obama and what she might be able to do, not just for this country, but for me as an African-American woman. As the potential First Lady, she would have the world’s attention. And that means that for the first time people will have a chance to get up close and personal with the type of African-American woman they so rarely see.
Usually, the lives of black women go largely unexamined. The prevailing theory seems to be that we’re all hot-tempered single mothers who can’t keep a man. Even in the world of make-believe, black women still can’t escape the stereotype of being eye-rolling, oversexed females raised by our never-married, alcoholic (酗酒的) mothers.
These images have helped define the way all women are viewed, including Michelle Obama. Before she ever gets the chance to commit to a cause, charity or foundation as First Lady, her most urgent and perhaps most complicated duty may be simple to be herself.
It won’t be easy. Because few mainstream publications have done in-depth features on regular African-American women, little is known about who we are, what we think and what we face on a regular basis. For better or worse, Michelle will represent us all.
Just as she will have her critics, she will also have millions of fans who usually have little interest in the First Lady. Many African-American blogs have written about what they’d like to see Michelle bring to the White House—mainly showing the world that a black woman can support her man and raise a strong black family. Michelle will have to work to please everyone—an impossible task. But for many African-American women like me, just a little of her poise (沉着), confidence and intelligence will go a long way in changing an image that’s been around for far too long.
57. Why does Michelle Obama hold a strong fascination for the author? A) She serves as a role model for African women.
B) She possesses many admirable qualities becoming a First Lady. C) She will present to the world a new image of African-American women. D) She will pay closer attention to the interests of African-American women.
58. What is the common stereotype of African-American women according to the author? A) They are victims of violence. B) They are of an inferior violence.
C) They use quite a lot of body language. D) They live on charity and social welfare. 59. What do many African-Americans write about in their blogs? A) Whether Michelle can live up to the high expectations of her fans. B) How Michelle should behave as a public figure.
C) How proud they are to have a black woman in the White House. D) What Michelle should do as wife and mother in the White House. 60. What does the author say about Michelle Obama as a First Lady?
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A) However many fans she has, she should remain modest, B) She shouldn’t disappoint the African-American community. C) However hard she tries, she can’t expect to please everybody. D) She will give priority to African-American women’s concerns.
61. What do many African-American women hope Michelle Obama will do? A) Help change the prevailing view about black women. B) Help her husband in the task of changing America. C) Outshine previous First Lady. D) Fully display her fine qualities. Passage Two
Questions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.
When next year’s crop of high-school graduates arrive at Oxford University in the fall of 2009, they’ll be joined by a new face; Andrew Hamilton, the 55-year-old provost (教务长) of Yale, who’ll become Oxford’s vice-chancellor—a position equivalent to university president in America. Hamilton isn’t the only educator crossing the Atlantic. Schools in France, Egypt, Singapore, etc, have also recently made top-level hires from abroad. Higher education has become a big and competitive business nowadays, and like so many businesses, it’s gone global. Yet the talent flow isn’t universal. High-level personnel tend to head in only one direction: outward from America. The chief reason is that American schools don’t tend to seriously consider looking abroad. For example, when the board of the University of Colorado searched for a new president, it wanted a leader familiar with the state government, a major source of the university’s budget. “We didn’t do any global consideration,” says Patricia Hayes, the board’s chair. The board ultimately picked Bruce Benson, a 69-year-old Colorado businessman and political activist (活动家) who is likely to do well in the main task of modern university presidents: fund-raising. Fund-raising is a distinctively American thing, since . schools rely heavily on donations. The fund-raising ability is largely a product of experience and necessity.
Many European universities, meanwhile, are still mostly dependent on government funding. But government support has failed to keep pace with rising student number. The decline in government support has made funding-raising an increasing necessary ability among administrators and has hiring committees hungry for Americans.
In the past few years, prominent schools around the world have joined the trend. In 2003, when Cambridge University appointed Alison Richard, another former Yale provost, as its vice-chancellor, the university publicly stressed that in her previous job she had overseen “a major strengthening of Yale’s financial position.”
Of course, fund-raising isn’t the only skill outsiders offer. The globalization of education means more universities will be seeking heads with international experience of some kind of promote international programs and attract a global student body. Foreigners can offer a fresh perspective on established practices.
62. What is the current trend in higher education discussed in the passage? A) Institutions worldwide are hiring administrators from the . B) A lot of political activists are being recruited as administrators. C) American universities are enrolling more international students. D) University presidents are paying more attention to funding-raising.
63. What is the chief consideration of American universities when hiring top-level
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英语四级改革后到15年12月阅读真题及答案
